'No Deal!' Cowboys Official Website Tony Pollard Contract Prediction
The Dallas Cowboys have until just Monday to ink a long-term deal with Tony Pollard, and doing so would prove he's the ballcarrier of the future for the franchise. But as CowboysSI.com has noted, in this time of "the devaluation of the running back,'' there's a real possibility that Monday comes and goes without a big payday for Pollard.
And it seems the team's official website and its staff at DallasCowboys.com predicts the same, suggesting the franchise tag will have to suffice for 2023.
"Prediction: No deal," DallasCowboys.com wrote. "It just makes too much sense for both sides. There has been franchise tag drama in the past around the league and in Dallas, but don't expect Pollard to be next in that line."
Pollard is slated to make $10 million on his one-year deal - far more than he's made in his career combined. So while other players like Saquon Barkley of the Giants fight off franchise tags, Pollard is still in a comfortable spot.
"For the Cowboys, evaluating Pollard in 2023 for the future will be important given his return from a major leg injury suffered in January and his first full season as the starter," DallasCowboys.com concluded.
We've been told that the leg injury is a non-issue. Still ... Can Pollard sustain his success this fall? If the answer is yes, he's staring down the barrel of a long-term (if not "big'') contract. If the answer is no, there is a Dallas escape hatch.
Pollard is 26, and the shelf life of running backs in the NFL is dwindling. Signing him to a contract that stretches past his 30th birthday seems unlikely.
That's no knock on Pollard - it's just the state of the league. While an extension would display confidence in the new RB1, and amid speculation (unconfirmed by CowboysSI.com) about a three-year, $27 million deal, the current running back carousel shows that ball-carriers are less valuable now. ... and that $10 mil for one year might be "whopping sum'' enough.
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